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Showing 4851 - 4900Strong Association Increasingly Recognized Between Obesity and Cancer Incidence/Poor Prognosis
The rise in obesity in the United States coincides with greater recognition of the role of obesity in cancer and other diseases.1 While decades of research have indicated a strong association between obesity and cancer, “several forces have made that association increasingly recognized,” according...
Richard L. Schilsky, MD, Chosen to Serve in New ASCO Leadership Position, Chief Medical Officer
Richard L. Schilsky, MD, Chief of Hematology/Oncology in the Department of Medicine and Deputy Director of the University of Chicago Comprehensive Cancer Center, has been named to the newly created position of Chief Medical Officer (CMO) of ASCO. A former ASCO President and Fellow of the American...
The Nuts and Bolts of Getting into an Oncology Fellowship
Oncology continues to be one of the most sought-after specialties. Because of a shortage of oncologists and the accelerating pace of developments in the diagnosis and treatment of cancer, oncology has become an increasingly competitive field. Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education...
Dong Quai
Scientific Name: Angelica sinensis Common Names: Chinese angelica, dang gui, tang kuei, tan kue Overview Dong quai is a perennial herb indigenous to China, Japan, and Korea. Its root has been used for centuries as a spice, tonic, and medicine. Dong quai is mentioned in Shen Nong Ben Cao Jing, the...
Ruxolitinib: Novel Drug for Myelofibrosis
In the Clinic provides overviews of novel oncology agents, addressing indications, mechanisms, administration recommendations, safety profiles, and other essential information needed for the appropriate clinical use of these drugs. Indication In November 2011, ruxolitinib (Jakafi) was approved for...
Expert Point of View: Fausto Roila, MD
Thromboprophylaxis for patients with a central venous catheter is at present not recommended by the international oncologic associations. This is based on the results of four recent randomized controlled trials, three of them double-blind, in which there was no statistically significant difference...
Does Prophylaxis Prevent Catheter-related Thrombosis?
In ambulatory patients with cancer, the risk of catheter-related deep-vein thrombosis can be reduced by almost half with anticoagulation prophylaxis, according to a single-center French study presented at the 2012 European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Congress in Vienna.1 Catheters implanted ...
Novel Agents for Breast Cancer and Prostate Cancer Impressive in Early Trials
Several sessions at the 2012 European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Congress in Vienna focused on novel targeted therapies in various stages of development. Summarized here are data on two promising drugs for breast cancer and two for prostate cancer. E-3810 in Breast Cancer Two experimental...
Regorafenib, Multikinase Inhibitor, for Previously Treated Metastatic Colorectal Cancer
In the Clinic provides overviews of novel oncology agents, addressing indications, mechanisms, administration recommendations, safety profiles, and other essential information needed for the appropriate clinical use of these drugs. Indication On September 27, 2012, regorafenib (Stivarga) was...
Trastuzumab Emtansine Improves Survival vs Capecitabine plus Lapatinib in Second-line HER2-positive Breast Cancer
Trastuzumab emtansine (T-DM1) is an antibody-drug conjugate composed of trastuzumab bound to the cytotoxic microtubule inhibitor emtansine (DM1, derivative of maytansine) by a stable linker. Trastuzumab targets the conjugate to HER2 receptors, and the linker releases the cytotoxic agent when the...
Updated Results from T-DM1 and Regorafenib Trials, plus Other Highlights from ESMO 2012
The 35th European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Congress in Vienna broke all records for attendance, with about 16,000 attendees from all over the world. Some sessions were standing room only, including the Presidential Symposia, the ESMO-ASCO Joint Symposium on genomics in breast cancer, and ...
Defining a Cure for Chronic Myeloid Leukemia and Strategies to Achieve this Goal
In chronic myeloid leukemia (CML), continued long-term therapy that prevents both progression to accelerated-phase disease and the emergence of resistance may be thought of as an “operational” or “functional” cure. However, long-term disease control without the requirement for continuous treatment...
Beyond Molecular Monitoring: Cytogenetic Testing and Mutational Analysis in Chronic Myeloid Leukemia
Cytogenetic analysis remains an important component of patient monitoring until a complete cytogenetic response is achieved. In addition, the ability of conventional cytogenetics to identify additional chromosomal abnormalities not detected by fluorescence in situ hybridization is noteworthy. Jorge ...
Treatment Goals, Molecular Monitoring, and the Role and Use of Guideline Recommendations
The importance of achieving a certain level of response with imatinib (Gleevec) by 3 months in patients with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) had previously been established in the IRIS (International Randomized Study of Interferon and STI571) trial.1 Analysis of data from this trial showed that...
Role of Glutamate and Effect of Its Blockade in Prostate Cancer
Glutamate plays a role in oncogenic metabolic and signaling pathways. In a recently reported study, Koochekpour and colleagues from the Roswell Park Cancer Institute in Buffalo, NY, investigated potential correlations of glutamate levels with prostate cancer in patients with primary or...
Lower Risk of Recurrence in Patients with HBV-related Liver Cancer Receiving Nucleoside Analogs
Patients with hepatitis B virus (HBV)-related hepatocellular carcinoma who received nucleoside analogs after curative liver resection had an associated lower risk of hepatocellular carcinoma in a nationwide cohort study using data from the Taiwan National Health Research Data Base. The study was...
Acupuncture: Does It Alleviate Symptoms Associated with Cancer Care?
A therapeutic modality of traditional Chinese medicine, acupuncture has been extensively investigated in Western medical settings. Its clinical use is increasingly common for the management of pain and other conditions. In the oncology setting, research demonstrates that acupuncture can...
Updates on Ruxolitinib from ASCO and ASH 2012, including Long-term Survival Data
Ruxolitinib (Jakafi), a novel, oral JAK1 and JAK2 inhibitor, was approved by the FDA on November 16, 2011 for patients with intermediate- or high-risk myelofibrosis. The approval was based on its efficacy in reducing spleen size and improving disease-related burdensome symptoms. In the brief In the ...
Androgen-deprivation Therapy plus Radiation Proven as Standard of Care for High-risk Prostate Cancer
A combined-modality approach of androgen-deprivation therapy plus radiation therapy achieves a substantial survival benefit over androgen-deprivation therapy alone in patients with locally advanced prostate cancer according to final analysis of an intergroup randomized phase III study conducted by...
ASCO Underscores Importance of Quality and Value in Cancer Care at IOM Workshop
ASCO leadership recently participated in the Institute of Medicine’s (IOM) National Cancer Policy Forum workshop titled “Delivering Affordable Care in the 21st Century.” The workshop focused on examining the rising costs related to cancer care and potential ways to curb these costs while improving...
Plenary Session Included Findings on Partial- vs Whole-breast Techniques and Patient Beliefs about Radiotherapy
When the dates were picked for the 54th Annual Meeting of the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO), no one could have anticipated that the meeting would coincide with Hurricane Sandy’s devastation of parts of the northeast. As the storm approached on Monday and Boston shut down its...
What Combinations Should Be Tested?
If the therapy combinations tested in the BeST trial don’t deserve to move on to phase III trials, what other combinations do show enough promise against renal cell carcinoma to merit being tested in phase III trials? “None at the present time,” maintained Bernard Escudier, MD, of the Institut...
Expert Point of View: Meena S. Moran, MD
“Breast cancer in the geriatric population is a major health issue. Of the more than 230,000 new cases diagnosed annually, somewhere between 40% and 50% will occur in women 65 and over. Furthermore, the elderly population has been and will continue to increase exponentially over time,” stated Meena ...
Memantine Provides Modest Improvement in Cognition after Cranial Irradiation
Memantine, a drug used to treat Alzheimer’s disease, slowed cognitive decline in patients with brain cancer treated with whole-brain radiation therapy in a phase III trial reported at the 54th Annual Meeting of the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO), held recently in Boston. Cognitive...
Screening for Ovarian Cancer: A Gynecologic Oncologist’s Perspective
The recent U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) Reaffirmation Recommendation Statement concluded that in the population of asymptomatic women without known genetic mutations that increase risk for ovarian cancer, clinicians should not screen for ovarian cancer using transvaginal ultrasound...
Recognizing and Managing Physician Burnout in Oncology
Although job burnout occurs in all professions, it is more common among physicians, according to a study published recently in Archives of Internal Medicine.1 Physicians on the front line of care, such as those working in emergency rooms or in family medicine, experience the highest rates of...
Green Tea
The use of dietary supplements by cancer patients has risen significantly over the past 2 decades despite insufficient evidence of safety and effectiveness. Finding reliable sources of information about dietary supplements can be daunting. Patients typically rely on family, friends, and the...
ASCO CEO Discusses the Society’s Initiatives
Created in 1964,a the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) has become the world’s preeminent professional cancer organization, with more than 30,000 members in the United States and abroad, unified by its founders’ “common concern for the patient with cancer.” The ASCO Post recently spoke...
Six Presidential Appointees Named to National Cancer Advisory Board
President Barack Obama recently announced his intent to nominate the following individuals to the National Cancer Advisory Board: David Christiani, MD; Judy E. Garber, MD; Liz Jaffee, MD; Beth Karlan, MD; Mack Roach III, MD; and Charles Sawyers, MD. David Christiani, MS, MD, MPH, is the Elkan Blout ...
New Appointments at Cancer Centers Nationwide
Two new physicians have joined a growing team of cancer experts at Carolinas HealthCare System’s Levine Cancer Institute in Charlotte, North Carolina. Joshua S. Hill, MD, surgical oncologist, joins Levine Cancer Institute after completing a fellowship in surgical oncology at The University of Texas ...
Teens and Young Adults with Cancer Want a Voice in End-of-life Care
A top the list of concerns of adolescents and young adults with a life-threatening cancer are these two considerations: being able to choose the kind of medical treatment they want (or do not want) and expressing their wishes to family and friends about how they want to be remembered, according to...
French Investigators Prospectively Test Genomically Driven Treatment in Metastatic Breast Cancer
Whole-genome DNA analysis prospectively identified alterations in metastatic tumors that could be individually targeted with molecular agents, in a study presented at the 2012 European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Congress by Fabrice André, MD, of Institut Gustave-Roussy, Villejuif, France....
Expert Point of View: Ian Smith, MD
Invited discussant Ian Smith, MD, of The Royal Marsden Hospital and Institute of Cancer Research in London, commented at the ESMO meeting that while all three arms of NeoALLTO, especially the arm with dual HER2 blockade, achieved good pathologic complete response rates, “the breast-conserving...
Online Prostate Cancer Information Is Written at Reading Levels above Many Americans’ Literacy Skills
Although 61% of Americans are going online to access health information,1 many of them may not understand what they find there, including information about prostate cancer treatment options. According to a new study published in The Journal of Urology,2 as many as 90 million Americans have literacy ...
ASCO’s Approach to Health Information Technology and the Rapid-learning System
The slow, but inevitable evolution of electronic oncology health-care systems has already, at least conceptually, moved to the next generation of machines that not only store and process data, but also have the ability to provide real-time clinical decision support. At ASCO’s first Quality Care...
Excellent Preliminary Results for Ibrutinib in Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia
Although still in preliminary testing with no phase III data, ibrutinib is poised to become an important new agent for patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). Two phase II trials reported at the 54th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Hematology (ASH) found that ibrutinib achieved...
Umbilical Cord Blood Transplant: Two Units are No Better Than One in Children with Hematologic Malignancies
Use of two partially HLA-matched units of umbilical cord blood were not superior to a single unit if it contained an adequate number of hematopoietic stem cells, according to a randomized study by the Blood and Marrow Clinical Trials Network. Results were reported at the 54th Annual Meeting of the...
E-mail Reminders to Providers May Improve Documentation of Code Status in Patients with Advanced Disease
E-mail reminders to providers at the start of each new chemotherapy regimen may improve the rate and timing of code status documentation for patients with advanced lung cancer, according to a study in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. Jennifer S. Temel, MD, and colleagues from Massachusetts General ...
No Difference in Toxicity with Proton Radiotherapy vs Less Costly Intensity-modulated Radiotherapy
A national sample of Medicare beneficiaries treated for prostate cancer with intensity-modulated radiation therapy or proton radiotherapy found that proton radiotherapy “was rare and expensive and associated with only a modest and transient reduction in genitourinary toxicity,” reported James B....
Younger Patients with Family History of Breast Cancer at Similar Risk of Bilateral Disease as Those with BRCA Mutations
Women who are diagnosed with breast cancer before age 55 and have a first-degree family history of bilateral disease have risks of contralateral breast cancer similar to women with deleterious mutations of BRCA1 and BRCA2, according to a study recently published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, ...
Oncology Trailblazer James F. Holland, MD, Recalls a Time of Unbridled Scientific Excitement
James F. Holland, MD, began his journey into oncology when it was still a nascent discipline, working alongside groundbreaking pioneers in the field such as Drs. Emil “Tom” Frei and C. Gordon Zubrod. Dr. Holland recently shared a glimpse of his role in oncology’s formative years with The ASCO Post. ...
Cisplatin Linked to Significantly Increased Risk of Venous Thromboembolism
Patients with advanced solid tumors treated with cisplatin-based chemotherapy had a significantly increased risk of venous thromboembolic events, according to a meta-analysis of 38 randomized phase II and III trials evaluating cisplatin-based vs non–cisplatin-based chemotherapy. The trials involved ...
ASCO Decision Aids Intersect Evidence-based Guidelines, Productive Patient Communication
Imagine this common clinical scenario: A 64-year-old woman presents with a new abnormality on a mammogram. A core needle biopsy and subsequent partial mastectomy reveal a 1.8-cm invasive ductal carcinoma. Sentinel lymph nodes are negative for cancer. The tumor is moderately differentiated and is...
PET-negative Scan after Short-course Chemotherapy Identifies Early Hodgkin Lymphoma Patients Who Can Forgo Radiation
Positron-emission tomography (PET)-directed therapy is promising for early-stage Hodgkin lymphoma, according to results of the UK NCRI RAPID trial presented at the 54th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Hematology (ASH).1 The use of PET scan enabled the identification of a population of...
Ezatiostat Gets Orphan Designation for Treatment of Myelodysplastic Syndrome
Telik, Inc, announced that its product candidate, ezatiostat hydrochloride (Telintra), has been granted orphan drug designation by the FDA for the treatment of myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS). Ezatiostat is an investigational agent in development for the treatment of MDS and idiopathic chronic...
SIDEBAR: Treating Earlier with Eribulin
Eribulin is also being evaluated for use earlier in patients with breast cancer, in both the metastatic and adjuvant settings, in three studies described at the San Antonio meeting. In a phase II study of eribulin as first-line treatment for locally recurrent or metastatic HER2-negative breast...
Inotuzumab Moves Forward in Relapsed/Refractory ALL
Single-agent inotuzumab ozogamicin achieved an encouraging overall response rate of 57% in the treatment of relapsed/refractory acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) in a phase II trial reported at the 54th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Hematology (ASH). Response was independent of monthly ...
Ibrutinib in Mantle Cell Lymphoma Yields 'Unprecedented' Response Rates
The investigational agent ibrutinib demonstrated “unprecedented” single-agent activity in relapsed or refractory mantle cell lymphoma, according to the lead author of an international phase II study reported at the Annual Meeting of the American Society of Hematology (ASH).1 Durable Responses “The...
Key Pathways Identified in Triple-negative Breast Cancer
Five key biologic pathways have become evident in triple-negative breast cancer tumors, and these pathways may be targetable with agents that are currently available or in development, results from an international genetic analysis revealed at the 2012 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium. Justin M. ...
Survival Benefit Achieved with Four Drugs plus Maintenance in Myeloma
An overall survival benefit in newly diagnosed multiple myeloma was attained with a four-drug induction regimen followed by a duet for maintenance in a study from the Italian GIMEMA network. Antonio Palumbo, MD, Chief of the Myeloma Unit at the University of Torino in Italy, reported the findings...
